Creping machine



1946- L. A. S'I 'RAUBEL, SR 2,409,997

'CREPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1944 NI/EAT C7 7 Louis fZ. J'Zraufie? J1 Patented Oct. 22, 1946 2,409,997 CRE'PINVG MACHINE Louis A. Straubel, Sr.', Green Bay, Wis., assignor to James W. Straubel, trustee, Green Bay, Wis.

Application November 24, 1944, Serial No. 564,916

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a creping machine, and more particularly to a machine for the creping of fibrous material, such as paper and the like, inadry state. a

It has heretofore been proposed to crepe paper in a dry state, but difficulties have been experienced in actual practice in obtaining a satisfactory crepe. These difliculties of prior workersin the art appear to have been due, in part, to the lack of any provision for maintaining the proper pressure upon the paper as it is delivered from the bite between the feeding and creping rolls in order to cause the paper to be upset and creped.

In accordance with my present invention, means are provided for mounting a pair of doctor plates at the delivery side of the bite between the feeding and creping rolls and for holding said plates lightly against the surfaces of said rolls while permitting the pressure of the paper passing between the plates to effect an automatic adjustment of the-spacing of the plates to so control such pressure as to bring about the optimum conditions for goodcreping. To accomplish this I provide two sets of plate-carrying'members thatare mounted'forcommon pivotal movement about the respective 'aXes of thefeeding and creping rolls. A doctor plate is pivotally mounted from each set of these plate-carrying members and placed under a bias, as by means of springs which urge the doctor plates against the respective roll surfaces.

.One set of the plate-carrying members is further provided with adjustable means for urging the cooperating surfaces of the doctor plates toward each other in oppositionto the pressure of the creped paper passing therebetween, whereby the spacing of such cooperating surfaces of the doctor plates is automatically maintained to create thedesired back" pressure on thepaper and thus cause the paper to be upset ahead of the leading edges of the plates close to the bite of the rolls.

A pair of rolls having resilient or yielding surfaces run at a slightly lower surface speed than the main feeding and creping rolls serve to draw the creped paper uniformly from therestricted passage between the cooperating surfaces of the doctor plates in which the creped paper accumu lates as a result of the back pressure referred to. In this'way, a heavily and uniformly cr'epedpaper can be-obtained without danger of tearing the paper, as so frequently happens when sharpedged doctor plates are used. 9

- It is therefore an importantobject of this in- 'vention to provide a creping machine for the.

:vention to provide a creping machine for the creping of dry web material, such as paper and the like, provided with doctor plates and means for holding said plates lightly against the surfaces of the feeding and creping rolls while at the same time permitting the cooperating surfaces of the doctor plates to move relatively toward or away from each other to provide a restricted passage for the web and to exert the proper-amount of pressure upon the web accumulating in such restricted passage to cause the paper to beupset substantially at the bite of the feeding and creping rolls. ahead of the leading edges of the doctor plates.

It is a further important object of this increping of dry web material, such as paper and the like, including a pair of pivotally mounted doctor plates and means for urging said plates to- Ward each other and into the bite between the feeding and creping rolls to provide a restricted passage between the doctor plates in which because of the friction offered to the passage of paper therethrough, an accumulation of bunched paper builds up and causes the paper ahead of it in the bite of said rolls to be upset and creped.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawmg.

On the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a creping machine embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the creping mechanism viewed from the delivery end.

Figure 3 is a broken, enlarged detail view illustrating the creping operation and showing the movement of the creping plates in dotted lines.

The reference numeral lil indicates a supply roll of web material, such as paper or the like,

that is to be creped. Said roll is supported in any 9 conventional manner and provided with the usual braking means (not shown) to permit a web II to be unwound therefrom under the desired ten sion. A pair of feeding and creping rolls [2 and is are mounted between the uprights of a stand M with their shafts l5 and It in vertical alignment The ends of the shaft l5 of the upper roll l2 are journaled in bearing boxes I! that are vertically adjustable within the vertical guiding members l8 of the stand I4. A pair of bolts I9- threaded through cross pieces 2B0 attached to the upper ends of the uprights I 8 serve to adjust the pressure exerted by the upper roll [2 against thelower roll 13. The rolls l2 and I3, instead of intermeshing gear teeth, whereby pivotal movement of either of the sets of members 25' or 2|- effects a like angular movement of the other member. c

4 4 facing material. The provision of a soft or yielding surface reduces the tendency of the rolls 4% and 4| to calender the crepe out of the web.

After leaving the rolls 4B and 4|, the web is wound up into a roll 43 journaled at its ends in a reel stand 44.

The driving means for the machine include a belt 45 driven from any suitable'source of power (not shown) and trained around a pulley 46 that is keyed to the shaft 16. Said shaft l6 also carries a large gear 41 adapted to mesh with a similar pinion gear 48 keyed to the shaft I5. The

uppe'r'roll I2 is thus driven through the train of gears-4T and 48 at the same surface speed as the The members 2|} are also provided with radially 7 extending arms 24, on the ends of which are mounted weights 25 for adjustment therealong to vary the effective forcetending to rotate the memberszfi; and, through the intermeshing teeth 0f:the gear sect0rs'22and 23, themembers 2|. Screws 28 serve to hold the'weights in adjusted positions upon the arms 24. It will be understood, of course, that by appropriate positioning the arms 24 and weights 25, may form a part of the other doctor plate supporting members 2|, instead of the members 20, and theysame effect obtained. r

The members 2| are'also provided with radially extending arms, indicated by the reference numeral 21, which, if extended, would converge with the arms 24. Angularly-shaped doctor plates30 and 3| are pivotally mounted from. said arms 24, and 2'l'by means of extended trunnions 28 and 29, respectively. Since each of the doctor plates tiltand 3| is similar inconstruction to the other, only one need be described with particularity;

The doctor plate 30 is substantially rightangular in shape when viewed endwise, and is pivotally mounted at its apex upon its trunnions 28. Theupwardly extending leg 32 of said doctor plate 30 is provided at each end with'a guide pin 33 which extends toward the axis of the shaft IS. A coiled spring 34 surrounds each of the pins 33 and. is held under compression between the leg 32 and the adjacent extended. end of the shaft I5. The action of the springs 34 thus tends to ,As a result of the actions of the springs 34 and 34a, the doctor plates 35 and 3511 are urged into light yielding contact with the surfaces of the rolls l2 and I3, respectively, forall angular positions of the arms 24 and 21. When the machine is-not in operation, the arms 24 and 21, under the action] of the weights 25, tend to move toward each other and to advance the leading edges and 36a into the bite 38 (Fig. 3) between said rolls'l2 and I3 until the plane surfaces 3? and 37a are in contact with each other, or substantially so.

A- pair of rolls 4!! and 4| ar mounted in a stand 42 in back of the feeding and creping rolls l2 and l3.

covered with a rubber, felt, or other yielding surwhich is trained a chain 50.

lower'roll 13."

The shaft It also carries a gear 49, around Said chain 50 serves to drive the lower roll 4| through the gear 5|. The arrangement is such that the roll 4| is driven at a slightly lower surfacespeed than the roll i3; The upperroll ,40isdriven through a pair of pinion gears Hand 53 mounted upon the shafts of the upper and lowerrolls-40 and 4|,

respectively. a

The operation of the device is substantially follows:

The machine is first set intofoperation through The leading end of the Web the beltdrive 14 5. I H is then fed into the bite 38 betweenthe'ro11s l2 and 13. Since the tendency of the web on the delivery side of the bite38 is to proceed in a straight line, without following thesurface of either of the rolls I2 or I3, the end of the paper will thread itself between the doctorplate surfaces 31 and 31a, tending to spread them apart and provide a restricted passage therebetween.

The weights .25, if not alreadyadjusted to proper position, are adjusted at this time. T h.(3-.pOSi-:

tions of the weights 25 will depend upon the basis Weight of the paper to be creped, its stiffness and other characteristics. 1 ,3 w K V 7 As the web ll starts topassthrough the restrictedgap betweenthe' surfaces 31 and3la a certain amount of frictional resistance is gener ated that causes the paper to be upset upon it self right back into the delivery side of the bite 38, and to fill the nip ahead of the leading edges with folds of he ereped, paper, as indicated at 55' (Fig. 3) Whi1e'f the pressure of. the paper is still in a straight line tangential to the roll surfaces at the bite 38, the increase in the effective thick-j. ness of the paper caused by the vcrepingaction ahead of the leadingedges 36 and 36a causes'said leading edgesto befo'rced apart sumciently to accommodate the creped paper} o The expanding forces so created arebalanced by the forces produced by .the'weights 25.tending to bring said surfaces 31' and 31a closer together. The result is that equilibrium is reached at a point where the two'o posin sets of forces balance each other. If the pressure ofthe bundles of creped paper increases, the doctor p1ates39. and 3| are moved; angularly away from each other, and at the same time the leading edges 36 and 36a are moved slightly outwardly from the bite 38 to assume fthe' dottedposition' illustrated inFigure V 1 I -The, spring :34 and 34a serve to. holdthe back sides of the doctor iplatesproper 35 and,f35a

Said rolls 40 and 4| are preferably against the respective rolljsurfaces l2 and [3. With the doctor plates 1 in the: position illustrated in Figure 3, the plane-surfaces 31 and. 3'|a are slightly convergent toward each other in the dimo 0f the'bitexfi r or," expressed differently, the restricted passage between said surfaces 31 and 131a becomes slightly wider. rearwardly of the apart at their leading edges than rearwarly,

thereof.

As the crepingloperation proceeds, the: creped paper crowds in bundles in the restricted passage between the surfaces 31 and 31a until it is forced out rearwardly thereof. The creped paper, now identified by the reference numeral I la, is then fed between the resilient covered rolls 4!) and 4|, which, as before stated, run at a slightly lower surface speed than the rolls l2 and I3. The rolls 40 and 4| are urged toward each other by adjustable pressure control means (not shown) but similar to that provided for the rolls l2 and I3, so that the amount of pressure, and hence the calendering effect, upon the creped web ||a may be varied as desired. The rolls 4|! and 4| serve to pass the creped web H to the reel 44 at a uniform rate from the accumulation of the paper between the doctor plate surfaces 31 and 3111.

From the rolls 40 and 4|, the creped web ||a is conducted to the reel 44 to be there wound up into a roll 43. Conventional means (not shown) for operating the winding reel are provided.

By use of a machine such as above described, paper of varying basis weights and varying degrees of stiffness can be satisfactorily creped in the dry state. A creped paper having a stretch in excess of 100% is possible even on relatively heavy weight paper. Regular perforated toilet tissue can be creped in the machine of my invention without any difiiculty.

In the operating position of the doctor plates 30 and 3| illustrated in Figure 3, with the other dimensions as given above, the spacing apart of the surfaces 3'! and 31a will be in the neighborhood of about /4 of an inch at the leading edges 36 and 36a, with the spacing increasing slightly rearwardly of said leading edges.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a creping machine, a pair of cooperating rolls for the passage into the bite therebetween of a web to be creped, coacting members, pivotally mounted about the axes of said rolls, creping plates supported from said members for providing a gap adjacent to the bite of said rolls of adjustable width for receiving said web after the same is creped in said nip, and means tending to urge said plates toward each other to resrict the width of said gap to effect an accumulation of said creped web within said gap.

2. In a creping machine, a pair of cooperating creping rolls, interengaging members pivotally mounted for limited rotational movement, creping plates carried by said members for positioning in adjustable spaced relation to form a gap adjacent the delivery side of the bite between said rolls and means acting upon one of said members to rotate said members and move said plates toward each other to restrict the width of said gap.

3. In a creping machine, a pair of feeding and creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the creping of a webat the delivery side of said bite, plates positioned at said delivery side of said bite to provide a gap of adjustable width in which an accumulation of said creped web forms, pivotally mounted means supporting'said plates and means associated with said plate supporting means urging said plates toward each other to restrict the width ofsaid gap in opposition tothe pressure of the web accumulation expand said width.

4. In a dry Web creping machine, a pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of a web to be creped, plates positioned at the delivery side of said bite and in closely spaced relation to said bite to provide a restricted gap into which the creped Web is fed, means pivotally mounted about the axes of said rolls and supporting said plates and means biasing said pivotally mounted means tending to restrict said gap to cause said web to be backed up and upset in said bite and thereby creped,

5. In a dry web creping machine, a pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of a web to be creped, plates positioned at the delivery side of said bite and in closely spaced relation to said bite to provide a restricted gap into which the creped Web is fed, and means including coacting members pivotally mounted about the axes of said rolls and pivotally supporting said plates tending to restrict said gap to cause said web to be backed up and upset in said bite and thereby be creped.

6. In a dry web creping machine, a. pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of a web to be creped, plates having adjustably spaced opposed surfaces terminating in leading edges extending into the delivery side of said bite and biased toward the surfaces of said roll to cooperate in upsetting said web in said nip, and means pivotally supporting said plates and constantly urging said plates bodily together to restrict the gap between said opposed surfaces and between said leading edges into which the web is fed and thereby eifect the upsetting and creping of said web.

7. In a dry Web creping machine, a pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of a web to be creped, plates having adjustably spaced leading edges extending into the delivery side of said bite and biased toward the surfaces of said roll to cooperate in upsetting said Web in said nip, and means pivotally supporting said plates and constantly urging said plates together to restrict the gap between said leading edges into which the web is fed and thereby effect the upsetting and creping of said Web, said means comprising members pivotally mounted about the axes of said rolls and having interengaging gear sectors, and a weight cooperating with one of said members to urge rotation of said members to bring said plates toward each other and closer to said bite of the creping rolls.

tending to 8. In a My web creping machine, a pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of aweb to be creped, plates: having :adjustably spaced leading edges extending into the delivery side of said bite and biased toward the surfaces of said roll to cooperate in upsetting said vWeb in said nip, means pivotally supporting said plates and constantly urging said plates together to restrict the gap between said leading edges into which the web is fed and thereby effect the upsetting and creping of said web and a pair of rolls having yielding surfaces for 7, receiving therebetween said 'crepedrpape from said gap.

9. In a .dry web creping machine a pair of creping rolls providing a bite therebetween for the passage of :a web to be .creped, plates having adjustably spaced leading edges extending into the delivery side of said bite and biased toward .the surfaces of said roll to cooperate in upsetting said web in said nip, means pivotally supporting said plates and constantly urging said plates together to restrict the gap between said leading edges into which the web is fed and thereby effect the up-.

setting and creping of said web and a pair of rolls having yielding surfaces for receiving there-' between said creped paper from said gap and means for driving said last rolls at a slower surface speed than said creping rolls; 1

r 'LOUIS A. STRAUBEL, SR.- 

